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Two weeks, one field goal.
That's Iowa's version of style points.
The Hawkeyes opened Big Ten play with a decisive 24-3 win on Saturday night.
Iowa, which held Ball State to just 112 yards in a 45-0 victory last week, limited freshman quarterback Rob Bolden and the Nittany Lions offense to one field goal in three trips to the red zone and held star running back Evan Royster to 56 yards.
The Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) made it clear in breezing past Penn State that they've moved on from their 34-27 loss at Arizona and are poised to be a factor in the race for the Big Ten title.
''Our guys are playing together. They're doing some good things,'' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.
On Saturday night, Iowa again stuck to what has become its winning formula: get ahead early and let its defense take care of the rest.
It's not a particularly exciting style to watch, but it's working for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa drove 77 yards in 10 plays to open the game. Even though they were forced to settle for a 20-yard field goal, that drive set the tone for first 29 minutes of the first half.
Iowa padded its lead to 10-0 on a 9-yard TD pass from Ricky Stanzi to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos late in the first quarter, and at the start of the second quarter the Nittany Lions had two punts and one yard of offense.
Stanzi pushed the lead to 17-0 with a 1-yard TD plunge with a minute left before the break. Iowa's offense got more conservative as the game wore on, and in fact the only score the Hawkeyes got after that was on Shaun Prater's interception return with 1:27 left, but Iowa could afford to get boring.
The Hawkeyes knew their defense wasn't likely to let Penn State get back into the game.
Iowa stopped Bolden on a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the third quarter, keeping their lead at 17-3 and denying Penn State their best shot for a touchdown.
''We saw some things out there that we were able to exploit,'' Iowa wide receiver Marvin McNutt said. ''From there, the defense played extraordinary and came through in a lot of situations to make sure we kept that advantage.''
For Penn State (3-2, 0-1), Saturday's loss was disturbing in its symmetry.
The Nittany Lions have played two ranked opponents on the road, Iowa and No. 1 Alabama, and went home 24-3 losers both times.
Penn State's defense did its part in the second half, holding the Hawkeyes to just 114 yards. But Bolden was every bit the talented freshman, looking brilliant at times and flustered in others.
Bolden went 20-of-37 passing for 212 yards, respectable numbers given how much heat Adrian Clayborn and the rest of Iowa's line put on him and how experienced and talented Iowa's defensive backs are.
He also threw a 49-yard pass to Brett Brackett to set up Penn State's lone field goal just before halftime. The Nittany Lions wanted to go for a touchdown from Iowa's 2-yard line, though, and Bolden failed to get the play off in time.
Bolden also misfired on a number of balls that were nearly intercepted on a gusty night in Iowa City.
''We got guys open, but we're making up our minds to throw the ball late,'' Penn State coach Joe Paterno said of Bolden. ''Things have to be available right now, otherwise he stays on one receiver. He'll get better.''
Iowa has next week off before traveling to face Michigan and electric quarterback Denard Robinson.
The bye week is one the Hawkeyes sorely need.
Linebackers Jeff Tarpinian and Troy Johnson are injured, but Ferentz said the break should allow them enough time to be healthy for the trip to Ann Arbor.
I'm thrilled that we have a bye week. Normally I'm not a big fan of them, but we need a little time to regroup here and get some of our guys that are nicked up back,'' Ferentz said.
